The University of Guam celebrated its Fañomnåkan 2026 Commencement Ceremony Sunday at the Calvo Field House, conferring degrees on 369 graduates — 309 undergraduate and 60 graduate — in one of the university's most decorated classes.
More than half of the graduating class, 194 students, earned academic honors. Top fields of study included criminal justice with 44 graduates, nursing with 35, business administration with 34, biology with 28 and civil engineering with 13. The ceremony also recognized the inaugural cohort of the Master of Science in Data Science program and six graduates who earned Master of Social Work degrees through UOG's partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Valedictorian Chia-Chia Hsieh, who earned dual degrees in chemistry and biology, reflected on arriving in Guam from Taiwan alone at age 16 and finding community at UOG. "UOG was not simply a university," she said. "It was a community that genuinely cared about its students." After graduation, Hsieh will attend the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy to pursue a doctor of pharmacy degree.
Commencement speaker Edwina Findley, an award-winning actress and author, challenged graduates to pursue ambitious goals with courage and use their gifts in service of others. "Dare to dream and have the audacity to dream big," Findley told the class. "The needs are real. The work is urgent. And you are the answer."
UOG President Anita Borja Enriquez acknowledged the challenges graduates navigated, including the COVID-19 pandemic and typhoons. "Your presence here today is proof that resilience is not something we talk about on Guam and our region — it is something we live," she said.
The Class of Fañomnåkan 2026 joins more than 22,000 UOG alumni serving across Guam, Micronesia and the world.
